Senator Issues Warning on Army Funding

Defense News notes a source of potential conflict arose during yesterday's hearing with US Army leadership at the Senate Armed Services Airland subcommittee, when Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) "warned that supplemental wartime funding, which the Army has said it needs well after the war in Afghanistan ends, may not be forthcoming."

"Given the pull of other national priorities, the Army’s request for three to four years worth of Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding after the US pulls out of Afghanistan is in peril, the senator said, bluntly warning the generals that 'the Army must face the reality that this may not be achievable.'"

"While the supplemental budget has decreased markedly over the past several years, the 2015 request remains in limbo, with US forces still unsure what mission — if any — will remain in 2015 and beyond. The White House has put a $79 billion “placeholder” line in the budget for 2015, less than 2014’s $85 billion request."